Showdown
by ElfLord123
Summary: This can be added on right at the ending of ME3. Shepard activates the Crucible, but nothing is what it seems.


"Shepard, time to get up."

Shepard groaned as a sharp pain shot up his arm. He could feel the cold ground against his face as he opened his eyes. He slowly wobbled back to his feet, grabbing his bed for support. It felt like he was in a hospital; he didn't exactly come out of the his victory against the reapers in the best shape.

Light was pouring in through the door to his room, making it hard to focus on anything. As Shepard looked up he saw drawings all across the walls. There were charcoal drawings of reapers, the Normandy, turians, quarians, the Citadel… Shepard glanced at the door and saw a figure standing in the doorway, the light pouring in behind him, making it impossible to see what he looked like.

Shepard didn't think much of it at first. He was too tired, too worn out, to think. His mind was numb, a blanks slate.

"You fell out of the bed," the man at the door way said jokingly. Shepard heard him but didn't care, his mind too stiff do so. Every muscle in his body ached and was on the brink of letting him just collapse on the floor.

"The reapers," Shepard murmured. "Did we get them?"

"Don't go talking like that again, Shepard," the man said chuckled gently. "The reapers don't exist."

That sentence, hearing that one sentence, snapped Shepard into reality. He looked up, now wide awake, and glanced around him.

"Where am I?" he asked, stunned by what he saw. He wasn't in a hospital recovering from his wounds from fighting the reapers; he was in a mental asylum.

"You don't remember?" the man at the door asked. Shepard stared at him in disbelief, still trying to remember what happened. He looked around him, desperate to do something, anything, but he didn't know what.

"This is the third memory lapse you've had," the man at the door said. "Tell you what, you go get breakfast and I'll fill you in there."

Shepard felt his jaw drop. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real.

Shepard felt his fist he wanted to punch the man at the door, just as a test to see if the guy was real. But, Shepard resisted this urge. He wasn't some loose cannon; he was a soldier that stuck to his morals in every situation.

"I'd like to know now," Shepard said calmly. The man at the door stopped to think for a moment.

"Come on," he said, stepping to the side to let Shepard out. Shepard calmly walked through the door and into the hall. The man closed the door and he and Shepard both began to make their way down the hall, past the green doors that lined the wall. The glittering light gave the place almost a friendly feel.

"Where am I?" Shepard asked, looking around. He looked at the aged man beside him whose thinning white hair seemed on the brink of falling out. The name 'Hauser' was imprinted on the golden name badge on his shoulder, which seemed to blink in the light. The man gave Shepard a friendly smile followed by a chuckle.

"You're at the Presley Mental Hospital on the Citadel," Hauser said. "You've been a patient here for three years now."

"Three years," Shepard repeated, still confused by what happened. His mission to stop Saren happened three years ago. But, that didn't answer anything.

"You occasionally experience memory lapses," Hauser explained when he saw Shepard's confused expression. "This is the third I've seen."

"What about the reapers?" Shepard asked. He needed to know what happened after their victory. He activated the Crucible but then…everything was blank.

"There's the thing about that," Hauser said unevenly, almost unsure how to tell Shepard the news. "There's no such thing as reapers." Shepard stopped in his tracks and turned to face Hauser.

"That's impossible," Shepard said sternly. "We fought them! We beat them!" he practically yelled. He could not believe that people would still doubt the reapers after fighting them.

"Shepard, calm down," Hauser said comfortingly, the old man's voice seemed to leech every ounce of anger from him. Shepard gave another sigh as the last of his frustration was drained from his body.

"Ok then," Shepard said. "What happened?"

"None of it," Hauser explained. The doctor gave a sigh as he brushed some sweat off his head, trying to think of a way to explain everything.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But, everything you remember never happened. Saren, Vigil, the collectors, none of it really happened. I'm sorry."

Shepard's body went stiff when he heard that, heard that everything that had happened for the past three years wasn't real.

"That's impossible," Shepard said in almost a whisper. He strained his mind to remember, remember what happened. He remembered crawling for the Citadel controls. Hackett had called. The Crucible did nothing. Shepard was desperately trying to reach the controls, desperate to end this once and for all. But, before he could reach the controls, he collapsed to the ground.

Shepard flinched as memories seemed to jumble together. He had collapsed to the ground and he never got back up, but his memory told him that he got back up after seeing the catalyst. He was sure that he never got back up but his memories told him he did.

"This isn't real," Shepard said to himself. "This is the reapers' indoctrination!"

"Shepard, please calm down," Hauser said, glancing behind him as if he was expecting someone to come in to find out what all the noise was. Shepard put his hand to his head as a searing headache stretched through his brain.

"I'm all right," Shepard mindlessly said. "I just…" His voice trailed off. What if none of it was real? What if all of it was just a hallucination? A world where the reapers never attacked…that loss of life he witnessed never happened.

Shepard thought back, back when it all started. His mind was a mess of memories, jumbled together like a trash heap. Shepard thought back, remembering everything, and as his memories unfolded, as his life flashed before his eyes, everything became clear. Then, his stomach lurched in dread realization.

That child…what was with that child? That little boy that he kept seeing...no one else seemed to see him. Even when he got on the shuttle, no one seemed to notice him. No one reacted to him. Anderson never noticed him. No one helped him onto the shuttle. It was as if no one saw him.

Then there were his dreams. Inky black figures…the rachni queen spoke of inky black figures that drowned her song, controlling her children. He could not stop thinking about the inky black figures in his dream, crowds of them watching him like ghostly spectators. They were inky black figures seen during indoctrination.

But, why didn't Vendetta notice? The prothean VI noticed the indoctrination within the Cerberus forces. Why not in him?

"I've studied the effects of indoctrination," Saren's voice echoed almost as if in response. "The more control Sovereign exerts, the less capable the subject becomes." He was never fully indoctrinated. Vendetta never noticed because it was never complete.

All of it was a lie. Everything he witnessed from the Catalyst was a lie.

"Shepard?" Hauser asked in concern. "Do you want to lie down?"

"No," Shepard growled through his gritted teeth, his fist clenched.

"If you're sure," Hauser said with uncertainty.

"No," Shepard repeated, fully convinced now. "I won't believe this. None of this is real. This is all just indoctrination from the reapers and I won't buy it!" Shepard was yelling now, his fist clenched like he was looking for a fight.

"Shepard, calm down!" Hauser said in worry as everyone around them turned to stare.

"I won't calm down and I won't buy any more of this crap!" Shepard roared. As the words left his mouth, he realized that the people around him were fading away, their colors melting off, revealing the inky figures underneath.

"Hey?" a voice rang out. Shepard turned his head and watched as a familiar figure appeared through the door.

"Shepard?" Tali gasped in surprise. As quickly as it had built up, all of the defiance in Shepard suddenly left him, hissed out like air from a balloon.

"Tali," Shepard breathed, unable to believe it. "This can't be real. This is all indoctrination." But, even as he said that, he could not help but wonder…

"No it's not," Tali said gently. Shepard still stared dumbstruck at her. "What? Aren't you glad to see me?" Tali asked soothingly, walking up to him, sliding her hand into his. It felt good, just to hold her in his arms. No Cerberus, no geth, no collectors, no reapers…just the two them. Even if the reapers never existed, even if everything that he remembered for the past several years never happened, at least he was with Tali again.

Shepard felt lightheaded as she put her head against his shoulder. The world around seemed to fade in a bright light that engulfed them until the world turned white as Shepard listened to the soothing music from a piano that did not exist. It was all perfect. Everything seemed perfect.

"Tali," Shepard said. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "I want you to know, I love you, with all my heart, and I will always love you."

"Keelah se'lai, Shepard," Tali said with a smile, her eyes twinkling.

"I want you to know…I need you to know, that I am only doing this because I love you," Shepard said as a single tear flowed down his cheek. "I love you."

The white serenity was interrupted, shattered like glass, as Shepard pulled out a pistol, pressing it against Tali's head and pulled the trigger. The world seemed to explode as the white around him was ripped away, replaced by a black abyss. He was falling, falling into the darkness. Shepard pulled the trigger again as Tali melted away. In her place was a horrifying creature with black molted flesh staring at him with its red glowing eyes. Shepard's ears were ringing as something screamed with rage. The creature grabbed Shepard by the throat, trying to squeeze the life out of him.

"I AM THE CATALYST," the creature hissed, the words seeping from its mouth like poison. "YOU MAY HAVE DEFEATED A NUMBER OF MY BRETHEREN BUT I WILL NOT DIE SO EASILY!" Shepard kept pulling the trigger, squeezing round after round into the thing's head until he felt himself torn away from it as he hit the rocky ground.

Looking up across the rocky plain, Shepard watched as a cloud of black smoke rose from the ground, wrapping itself around the nightmarish creature, forming a massive cloak of darkness and a hood that cast an ominous shadow over its eyes.

"Synthetics and organics don't have to fight!" Shepard yelled at the approaching figure. "The geth and quarians are working together. There CAN be peace!"

"You just don't get it, do you?" the Catalyst spat. "It was never about synthetics and organics. We knew about the peace between the geth and the quarians!"

"I don't care why you're doing this!" Shepard snapped angrily, pulling out his pistol, which had somehow transformed into an assault rifle, and aiming at the figure. "But, I'm going to stop you." Shepard watched the shadowy figure pace back and forth as it stared at him with its unseen eyes.

"Can't you understand what I'm doing?" the Catalyst yelled. "The galaxy is dying at the hands of an infection and the reapers are its only salvation."

"And infection?" Shepard repeated. "Organics?"

"No," the Catalyst hissed venomously, almost amused by Shepard's lack of understanding. "Freewill," it answered. "Diversity." Shepard kept his finger against the trigger with the rifle locked onto the black figure. "So long as these things remain, there can be no peace. Your kind will destroy itself. I am offering salvation, a second chance!"

"That doesn't make sense!" Shepard said. "There can be peace if you just leave! The galaxy is unified right now!"

"United to stand against me and my brethren," the Catalyst said. "If you we do leave, how long will it be before your alliance crumbles? Chaos is a direct result of freewill. Prejudice is a direct result of diversity! I will give the galaxy one body…one mind. No freewill, no diversity. THINK ABOUT IT! No more war. No more pain. No more suffering."

"Then why continue the cycle?" Shepard demanded to know. "Why not just harvest all organic life?"

"They have yet to prove themselves," the Catalyst said plainly. "If they become the utopia that I have always sought, they shall be spared. If they fail…then the same fate awaits them."

"The same fate won't await them," Shepard said defiantly. "Because we're gonna beat you! The crucible's already in place, and we're going to activate, and we're going to send you and all your reaper friends back to whatever black hole they crawled out of!"

"I don't think so!" the Catalyst hissed venomously. "It's time I tell YOU something. It's time I put a stop to your futile efforts! You tried to stop us before but you've only delayed the inevitable! Despite all your efforts, we returned to give birth to a NEW WORLD! So now the only thing standing between this galaxy and its salvation is YOU!"

Shepard felt the air turn ice cold as he watched the Catalyst's crimson eyes glow from under its hood. Shepard could tell this thing was eager for a fight, but he was too…and the Catalyst could sense it.

"For three years you've waited for the chance to end the reapers once and for all," it chuckled. "You've been waiting for this moment for a long time…so have I." Shepard cocked his gun. He has been waiting for this moment. It was time to end this.

There was a loud hiss as the rocky world around him suddenly vanished. Shepard opened his eyes. He was lying on a cold metal floor at the center of a huge chamber. At the far end, he could see a computer console, and the hooded Catalyst stood between him and it. He was out of the indoctrinated world. He was back on the Citadel.

* * *

**Final Boss: The Catalyst**

**Type: Unknown**

**Faction: Reapers **

**Armament: Unknown**

**Abilities: Unknown**

**Armor: Very High**

"Let's get this over with, shall we?" the Catalyst hissed.

Shepard grabbed a rifle from the hands of a dead Cerberus trooper at the side, aimed, and fired at the Catalyst. He felt the gun's recoil against his shoulder as the bullets flew at the Catalyst. There was a loud bang as the Catalyst's solid body suddenly twisted, leaning back as the bullets flew harmlessly by. Shepard aimed his gun again but there was another bang as the Catalyst rushed at him, knocking him off his feet. Shepard felt himself hit the ground. He heard the Catalyst's furious yell and instinctively rolled to the side. It was just in time too. When he opened his eyes he saw a set of massive claws growing from the Catalyst's fingers, planted into the ground where he was just a moment ago.

Shepard jumped back onto his feet and sprayed bullets in the Catalyst's direction. He watched as the Catalyst effortlessly dodged each one before rearing back and charging at him again, but Shepard was ready this time. As the Catalyst charged, Shepard swung his rifle at it like a baseball bat. He felt the rifle ram right into its face, sending the Catalyst stumbling backwards. Shepard fired at it again but watched as it began back flipping away from him, dodging every bullet fired.

The Catalyst finally landed, chuckling wickedly. There was an ear-piercing scream as a massive red orb formed in its hands. Shepard watched at it cradled the blood-red sphere like a baby before throwing it at him. Shepard jumped out of the way just in time. As the orb left its hands it turned into a crimson beam of energy, not unlike the very energy beams the reapers fire, a beam of molten hot metal that shot past his ear.

Shepard looked up just in time to see the Catalyst charge again. Shepard aimed his gun and fired at the reaper. The Catalyst, unable to change direction, ran straight into the oncoming bullets. It stumbled backwards in pain and surprise as the bullets ran straight into him.

The Catalyst looked up as Shepard got ready to fire again.

"Maybe I underestimated you," the Catalyst hissed in amusement. "Let's see how you handle this?" The Catalyst slammed his fist into the ground as a massive shockwave was sent in all directions. Shepard didn't have time to react. He felt his shields shatter as he stumbled backwards.

Shepard immediately jumped to the side as the Catalyst unleashed another beam of energy. Shepard watched as the Catalyst suddenly punched the air in front of him and unleashed a huge shockwave through the air, sending Shepard flying backwards.

Shepard clutched his stomach in pain as he made a desperate jump to the side as the Catalyst unleashed another beam of energy that whizzed past his face.

Everything seemed to swirl together as Shepard kept dodging the Catalyst's attacks, and Shepard kept shooting at it. The Catalyst effortlessly dodged nearly every bullet but Shepard still found those occasional moments where he could sneak a shot in. Everything was happening so fast, almost on instinct. Suddenly, the Catalyst lunged at him, grabbing him by the throat and lifting up off the ground.

"This could've been quick, Shepard," the Catalyst growled as Shepard struggled against the reaper's iron hard grip. "But now, your friends will suffer because of you." Shepard watched as the Catalyst raised his other claw, ready to finish Shepard once and for all. Shepard yelled in pain as he lifted his right hand as if the punch the Catalyst. There was a loud ring as the orange omni-blade formed around his arm. With every ounce of energy left in his body, Shepard jammed his omni-blade into the Catalyst's face.

The reaper roared in pain as it dropped Shepard and stumbled backwards. The Commander took a moment to catch his breath before running up and slamming his omni-blade into the reaper again…and again.

"IT'S OVER!" Shepard yelled. "Whatever species you were made from, they're dead. It's time they can rest in peace." Shepard pulled his hand back, ready to stab the Catalyst again. An eerie smile slowly spread across the reaper's hideous face.

"Finish your war, Shepard," the Catalyst said. "I'll be waiting for you." Shepard hesitated for a moment, chilled by the Catalyst's words, but he raised his fist and, with a furious yell, jammed the omni-blade deep into the reaper's head.

The limp body fell to the ground as the light in its eyes died.

* * *

Shepard looked at the reaper body. He knew it was only a body the Catalyst could control, much like the implants in Saren that Sovereign took control of. It was only a matter of time before the Catalyst finds another body to attack again.

Shepard looked up through the window. He could see the battle with the reapers raging outside. It was time to end this.

Shepard felt a sharp pain shoot through his stomach as he reached for the controls. His fingers fumbled over the tiles of buttons.

Shepard looked up when a column of light came from the window, shining right at him. He could see Harbinger floating right in front of the Citadel, its glowing eyes glaring at Shepard.

"I win," Shepard said. With that, he activated the Crucible.

The entire stationed rumbled as energy surged through it. He could hear the Catalyst howling with rage as the Citadel released a massive energy wave in all directions. He could hear the Citadel creak as if it was going to collapse at any moment. And Shepard ran. He didn't know where he was running but he didn't care. He just ran. He was just about to run through the door when he suddenly fell to the ground. He looked behind him and saw that the Catalyst's broken reaper body had seized his leg. Shepard desperately tried to crawl away but the reaper continued crawling towards him, refusing to release his leg. The last thing he saw was the Catalyst's mutated body crawling towards him as the world around him faded to white.

The wave of energy from the Citadel became a massive wall of glittering light, engulfing everything in its path. The reaper ships were completely consumed by the wall of light, their lifeless shells left in space. The Citadel had given its last breath of life to destroy the reapers. As the wave of light passed over Earth the massive space station crumbled, explosions tearing it apart, its flaming debris falling to earth.

The blue light in the mass relay began to glow brighter than ever as it, suddenly, also released a massive wall of light before firing a beam of energy out into space. That beam hit another mass relay, which soon released another wall of angelic light before firing the beam at another relay. All across the galaxy, reapers fell as this wall of light engulfed them.

* * *

What was left of the Citadel rained to earth, a shower that reminded everyone of what they had won…and what they lost. A rescue team scoured the debris that was strewn across a ruined earth. Hundreds of people searched the ruins, clinging to the ever diminishing hope that Shepard was still alive.

Tali looked across the field of debris, worn down by an entire day of searching. Her hands were clasped together as she prayed that Shepard was ok. More and more teams hopelessly returned from their search.

Another team came back, still nothing found from the smoldering ruins. Tali tearfully looked across the field of debris.

She finally turned away, trying to accept the truth: Shepard was dead. He died when the Citadel crashed to earth. He was gone.

She was just about to walk away when she heard something. She could hear debris shifting behind her, as if someone was fighting to get out, fighting to live. She turned around. Her eyes widened in hope as she watched a figure emerge from the debris.

The cloud of dust began to part, gently blown away, letting the sun warm light shine through. Tali watched as the figure got to its feet, the glowing orb that was the sun hanging over his head like a halo. It was Shepard. He stood upon the pile of debris, battered, bleeding, and bruised, but alive.

Tali smiled. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. She just broke into a run and ran right into Shepard's embrace. Every muscle in his body burned. Everything was aimed at his failure, yet he succeeded. He lived despite all odds. While everyone will wonder how or why he lived, Shepard knew the answer as he placed his forehead against Tali's visor, staring into her eyes: he had something to live for.

Shepard stared across the ruined landscape in awe and horror. His planet, his home, was destroyed.

"I'm sorry, Shepard," Tali said as she stared at the devastation. Shepard nodded, just taking in what she said.

"We all have to rebuild," he said. "Now that humanity still has a future…"

"Not just humanity," Tali reminded him. "You cured the genophage, Shepard. The krogans have a future too. Wrex is gathering all the krogans to take back to tuchanka."

"Your people have one too," Shepard said. "Not only can you go back but you have Geth to help you rebuild."

"What about everyone else?" Tali asked. "What will happen to the rachni?" Shepard just shrugged.

"The galaxy can see they're not interesting in fighting us," he said. "Maybe they can come out of hiding."

"And the asari can rebuild what's left of their world," Tali added. "When this all started, it seemed like we had nothing. Now, it seems like we have everything."

"And more," Shepard said, putting his arm around Tali. "We had something to fight for." He looked into Tali's eyes, knowing this was her this time. "Come on. I got to get you home." Tali looked up at Shepard with a small smile.

"As long as I'm with you, I am home."

Shepard and Tali stared across the landscape as the remainder of the debris in space rained down to the planet, staring into a better future for the entire galaxy.

* * *

"_The galaxy is a place of destruction, a place of violence, a place of chaos. Organics have, and always will, create chaos. It is an inevitable result of their freewill. That is what the Catalyst believed. Is he right? Will this peace and unity that I have fought for end in chaos? The truth is…I don't know. All I know is what I want to believe: that decency will find a way. These past few years, I have faced some of the toughest challenges in my life. Many times, I was tempted to do whatever was necessary, whatever the cost. I've tried to keep my morals in mind, knowing that I did not need to harm others to reach my goals. But, can I demand the same for everyone else? We aren't in control of everyone. We can't tell them what to do. All we can do is make sure we hang on to our moral values and act upon them, make the right decisions…and pray that others do the same. And, I pray they make the right decisions, for extinction can be only one decision away."_

* * *

**So, this was my add-on to the ME3 ending. I hope you enjoyed it. Please tell me what you think. I tried touching on the stuff that people, including me, hated, like the destruction of the Mass Relays, Shepard's death, Normandy's retreat, lack of a final boss, and a nonsensical explanation for the reapers. The part where Shepard comes out of the rubble is kind of a homage to ME1 when Shepard comes out of the rubble on the Citadel. **


End file.
